


Blur

by Otrera



Series: SPN Codas [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Coda, Episode: s13e13 Devil's Bargain, Gen, Pre-Slash, Season/Series 13 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-16 08:18:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13632378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Otrera/pseuds/Otrera
Summary: Gabriel gets out.





	1. Chapter 1

He was never going to die. Never going to stop feeling sharp hunger pains in his stomach, never not going to feel his own blood sliding down his skin. Never going to get rid of wires sealing his lips shut so he couldn't even scream out his agony. It was a fact he was slowly resigning himself to.

Then his cell door opened.

His cell door never opened, not even when they fed him. They just shoved the food through a slot in the door. It usually didn't land anywhere near him, forcing him to crawl forward as far as his chains would let him and eat off the floor like a dog. (He hadn’t eaten in a while. The wire got in the way.) Even when they tortured him, they knocked him out with magic so they could move him to the room with all the weapons without letting him learn the layout of the place and possibly plan his escape.

"Gabriel?"

Gabriel raised his head, muscles screaming in protest, and squinted through the blood in his eyes. Whoever it was was so tall and broad they blocked most of the light that came through the open door. God, he couldn't even see their soul. He almost wept.

The person approached Gabriel and he didn't even bother to flinch, just let his head drop forward and closed his eyes. The person didn't draw on his skin with a knife or sow wires into his skin, though. They were doing something with his chains - taking them off? Were they going to move him somewhere? The chains clattered against the stone bench Gabriel sat on. The person squatted down to take off the chains around his ankles.

They stood up and picked him up like he was a rag doll. Their shirt was too rough on his skin and their hands were too tight on his wounds. Gabriel's head lolled back and he tried to moan pitifully, but between the wires in his lips and the dried blood gluing them together, no noise came out.

"Hey, it's okay, we're getting you out," the person whispered, shifting him so his head rested against their chest. It was firm, no softness in sight. Male, then.

They moved out of the cell, where it was probably only a little brighter than inside the cell, but seemed to Gabriel brighter than the sun.

"Holy shit," said a new voice. "What the hell happened to him?"

"Dean -"

"Right, okay, wait until we're out of here."

They were moving very fast (it was slow compared to flying, but Gabriel hadn't moved faster than a crawl in forever) down a hallway. The motion made him nauseous. He closed his eyes and turned his face into the chest of the person carrying him.

"Cas! I thought you were fighting -"

"I dispatched all of Asmodeus' guards in this section. We should be able to get out unnoticed."

They were running. Every step jostled Gabriel and, consequently, his still-open wounds (some old and some very, very fresh).

Light flooded his vision, even brighter than before, and Gabriel cried out so loudly it could actually be heard despite his wires.

"Shh, you're safe, you're out," murmured the person holding him. "Cas, you sit shotgun, I'm going to stay with Gabriel."

Two sets of hands manoeuvred him into something and then he was laying on something some and smooth and the light wasn't quite as bright. Someone lifted his head up and laid it on something warm and rough. There was a loud noise that made Gabriel flinch, like a door slamming shut, then it happened two more times and they were moving again. It was faster and smoother than before.

"Cas, can you heal him?"

"Yes."

Two fingers rested against his forehead for the briefest of seconds. His wounds closed and his muscles relaxed, but the blood staining his skin remained. His lips were still sewn shut.

"You need to cut the wires before I can heal his lips."

The thing his head was laying on moved. "Dean, did you bring the EMT bag?"

"Yeah, it should be in the duffle."

Rustling noises and more moving. Someone was moving him again, pulling him up until his upper back was laying on the same thing his head was. He was in someone's lap. The man leaning over him was vaguely familiar. He cupped Gabriel's cheek in one hand and tilted his head a little bit. He was holding something silver and sharp-looking. Scissors?

He moved the scissors down where Gabriel couldn't see them and -  _ Jesus fucking Christ his lips were being pried open and it hurt so bad it was agony stopstopstop _ \--

"Cas, I think we're going to have to wait until we get back to the bunker to fix his lips. I can't cut the wires, there's too much dried blood in the way. We'll have to wash it off with warm water or something."

They were moving for a long time. Gabriel thought he might have passed out for a while. Whoever was holding him made soft, reassuring noises from time to time. He didn't know if he could trust him. But he made most of the pain go away, so maybe he was good.

It got really bumpy a little while before they stopped moving. Someone picked him up again. (It wasn't bright at all anymore, but he opened his eyes a little bit and thought he saw stars.)

“I’m going to take him to the showers to see if I can get the blood off him. Cas, can you get my yoga mat? I don’t want him to just lay on the floor.”

“Of course. Shouldn’t he also have something to support his head?”

“Yeah, um, a pillow maybe?”

“A wet pillow doesn’t sound very pleasant.”

A sigh. “Wrap it in plastic wrap or something, Cas.”

It was a little bit brighter now. Not too bright, though. Gabriel’s face was buried in the man’s chest again.

The man carried him a long time, but he wasn’t jostling him a lot, so Gabriel didn’t care. He put him down and helped him lean against a wall (it was cold). His footsteps walked a few feet away, then the sound of - rushing water? filled the room.

“Let’s get you out of these clothes while we wait for Cas.”

Gabriel let the man undress him, neither helping nor hindering him. The air got warmer and thicker.

“Do you need help?”

“Hey. Thanks for getting the mat. Uh, yeah, can you hold him up while I get his pants off?”

Someone wrapped their arms around him underneath his armpits. His legs dangled uselessly. A second someone tugged his pants off. (Just his pants. He didn’t have any underwear to put on underneath them.)

“Can you roll the mat out?”

“Yes. I also brought the plastic wrap pillow.”

Something that sounded like a laugh. “Thanks, Cas.”

The man picked him up again, but this time he put him down almost immediately. Whatever he was laying on was firm and soft at the same time. His head rested on something slippery. Little droplets of water kept landing on his face.

The water moved away from his face to his chest. God, it was so nice. No freezing cold or agonising burns.

“Gabriel, I’m going to try to clean your mouth. Is that okay?”

Gabriel blearily opened his eyes. He still didn’t know why the man seemed familiar. Who did he know with brown hair?

“Okay, this might hurt a little, but it’s going to be okay, I promise.”

The water moved from his chest to his face. Not his whole face, like before, just his chin and his lips. It did hurt, but it hurt even worse when the man started dabbing at his lips with a piece of cloth.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’ll be over soon.”

It felt like it lasted an eternity. The blood slowly dissolved from his lips. Then the man got out the same pair of scissors as in the car and started prying his lips open as much as possible. It wasn’t as painful as it was before, but it still hurt like all hell. Cool metal slid between his lips, and there was a sudden sharp jolt as the scissors cut the thin wire.

“Shh, you’re okay, I’m almost finished.”

There was wet on his face that wasn’t from the water. Was he crying? He didn’t know why he bothered. It didn’t stop the pain.

The man had finished cutting through the wires and was pulling them out. Pathetic, high-pitched moans escaped Gabriel’s throat (he could make  _ noise _ , people could  _ hear him _ ) and the man apologized for it every time, a never-ending litany of sorrysorrysorry.

“Shh, I’m sorry, it’s all over, no more, you’re okay. We’re just going to clean your hair and get the rest of the blood off you, okay?”

Water sprayed over his hair, making his head heavier than he was used to but also very warm. There was a  _ click _ from somewhere to his left, and a squirting sound. Hands moved into his hair and massaged some goopy stuff into it, and Gabriel thought he might have started crying again, because it was the kindest touch he had felt in - months? Years?

It was over far too soon. The man swept a cloth lightly over the entirety of his body a few times, removing the blood and grime as best it could. The water stopped. Something soft rubbed the wetness out of his skin and hair. The man wrapped Gabriel in a different but similar soft thing and picked him up.

“Let’s go find Cas so he can finish healing your lips.”

Cas was the person with the mat and the plastic wrap pillow. Gabriel could tell by his voice. When Cas brushed two fingers against his forehead, the bloody holes in Gabriel’s lips closed up like they had never been there to begin with.

“Dude, is he naked?”

“He just finished bathing, Dean, of course he’s naked.”

“Well go put some clothes on him.”

A while later, Gabriel found himself draped in soft fabric and a large hand was stroking his hair, and the man was murmuring to him in soft tones.

“Do you remember me, Gabriel? It’s Sam Winchester. You saved my life. You helped us save the world.”

Gabriel leaned his head back to look at him with half-closed eyes (moving was getting easier and easier) and sighed.

Sam kept stroking his hair. “You’re safe now. I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm considering writing a companion piece from Sam's POV. Comment if you're interested.
> 
> Update: It definitely looks like there's some interest in a companion/sequel, so I'll add it as a second chapter as soon as I finish it!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! I decided to make it set after Mary and Jack got out of bizarro world. 
> 
> Also, I think I confused some people when I said companion piece. I meant sequel, I was just having a brain fart and couldn't remember the word. :P

After sleeping for over twelve hours, Gabriel was finally awake again. He was completely out of it, and Sam was pretty sure he wasn’t completely aware of his surroundings, but he was awake. He was a lot less skittish than Sam had anticipated. He’d been expecting him to flinch whenever someone touched him, or maybe wild eyes every time someone went near him. Instead, he was just super lethargic. He laid there on the bed with glassy eyes, hardly responding except to blink slowly and turn his head to look at whoever was in the room.

Getting him to eat was hard. Aside from the whole not-moving thing, he’d obviously been starved. Sam didn’t really know much about what kinds of foods you should feed malnourished people, except that you weren’t supposed to feed them lots of meat or oily foods. Sam had Dean pick up some baby food when he went on a food run. It was soft enough for Gabriel to not have to chew much, and it was probably loaded with nutrients. Sam helped him sit up against the headboard of the bed and spoon fed him the baby food while Gabriel watched him with unseeing eyes.

Sam talked to him as much as possible whenever he was near him - which was getting to be an awful lot of time - in an effort to get him back to awareness. Sometimes it seemed like it worked. Other times it didn’t.

He also dug an old wheelchair out of one of the Men of Letters’ storage rooms that was full of medical supplies. He wanted to give Gabriel an occasional change of scenery while still allowing him to rest. He wheeled him out to the war room or the library as often as possible. Usually Dean, Cas, and Jack were there. Mary was still mostly on bed rest. Sam had the feeling she was emotionally recuperating as much as she was physically. Being unable to escape from the devil was a feeling Sam was all too familiar with. He couldn’t blame her for wanting to sleep it all away.

Jack liked to talk to Gabriel. He told him about whatever movies or t.v. shows he was watching at the moment, or about whatever new food he’d just tried. When Cas wasn’t with Dean, he sat with Jack and listened to him talk to Gabriel. Occasionally, he would quietly recall happy memories he had of Heaven, and Gabriel’s eyes would lose a little bit of their fogginess and look almost alive again. Dean didn’t really interact with Gabriel at all. Sam was pretty sure he was uncomfortable being near someone who wasn’t all there.

Gabriel was always licking his lips. It was like he was trying to reassure himself that they were there, that they still had feeling. Sam understood, but it made his lips chapped in a way that looked more painful than the wires.

Sam cupped Gabriel’s chin and tilted his head up so he could apply chapstick to his lips. “Gabriel, you have to stop licking your lips. You’re hurting yourself.”

Gabriel stared at him, eyes alert but uncomprehending. Silent tears dripped down his cheeks. That happened, sometimes. All of a sudden, Gabriel would just start crying without provocation. His expression never changed and he rarely made a noise. Sam had never felt more helpless in his life than when that happened and he couldn’t stop it.

Gabriel licked his lips again. Sam sighed and applied more chapstick. He turned around to get a few tissues off the counter to pat his face dry. When he face Gabriel again, Gabriel still looked alert, which was a good sign. His sessions of attentiveness usually didn’t last very long.

Sam brought the tissues to Gabriel’s cheek. Gabriel breathed in deeply and closed his eyes. Sam stilled, ready to pull away if the situation called for it. Gabriel opened his eyes again. He coughed a little.

“Sam.”

Sam reeled back in surprise. His voice was hoarse from disuse, and barely loud enough to be heard, but Gabriel had spoken for the first time since they’d rescued him.

“Gabriel? Do you… do you know who I am?”

Sam waited with bated breath. Gabriel nodded. Just one short bob of his head. It was more than enough for Sam’s heart to leap into the stratosphere.

“That’s great! Do you remember Dean? And Cas?”

Another nod.

“Do you remember what’s been going on the past few days?”

He looked less sure of himself this time, and shook his head.

“That’s okay,” Sam rushed to reassure him. “You’ve been at the Men of Letters bunker in Lebanon, Kansas, with me, Dean, Cas -” It struck him that he might not know who Mary and Jack were “-and a couple other people.” He hesitated. “How are you feeling?”

Gabriel shrugged. “Hair,” he croaked.

“What?”

Gabriel raised his arm and gestured weakly at his head before letting it flop back down.

“Your hair? Uh, is it dirty? Do you want a shower?”

Gabriel’s eyebrows knit together and his lips turned down. He shook his head again.

“Uh… does it need to be combed? Do you want a haircut?”

His face relaxed and he nodded twice.

“Okay, um, let me go find some scissors and I’ll do my best. Just, fair warning, I’ve never actually cut anyone’s hair before, so I don’t know how good I’ll do.”

Gabriel looked pretty unbothered by that. He lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug, like  _ what can you do? _

Sam got the scissors out of the drawer in the kitchen and went back to his room, where Gabriel was waiting patiently in his wheelchair.

Sam had been using his own shampoo and conditioner on Gabriel’s hair every night, so it was soft and light to the touch. He recalled how Gabriel’s hair had been styled when they last met and trimmed it to resemble the same style as best he could. It curled up a little in the back. Sam stole a little of Dean’s hair gel to sweep the front back. He looked pretty good, Sam thought, and immediately felt bad for it. Gabriel was suffering from trauma and dealing with PTSD, he didn’t need anyone hitting on him.

Gabriel looked in the little hand-held mirror and the corners of his mouth turned up in a soft little smile.

“Like it?” asked Sam as he swept up the hair on the floor.

Gabriel nodded. “Looks good.”

Every time Gabriel spoke, Sam felt a little triumphant. They were making progress.

“You wanna go to the library? See if Cas or Jack is in there?”

Gabriel shook his head and clumsily lifted his arm in Sam’s direction.

Sam moved a little closer and kneeled down so Gabriel didn’t have to bend his neck so much. “What is it?”

Gabriel pushed the palm of his right hand against Sam’s and twined their fingers together. He stared at him with urgent, earnest eyes. “Thank you.”

The back of Sam’s neck got a little warm. “It was just a haircut.”

“No -” He cut himself off with a sudden hacking cough. Sam grabbed the water bottle sitting on his nightstand and helped Gabriel drink a little bit of it.

He stopped coughing and rubbed his watering eyes. “No,  _ thank you _ .”

And Sam understood - he meant thanks for rescuing him, for getting him out of Hell and nursing him back to semi-health.

“I’ll always help you, Gabriel,” he said honestly. “You gave up everything for me and Dean.”

“For  _ you _ .”

And damn if Sam’s cheeks didn’t flush dark red at that. He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. “Thank you, too, for that.”

Gabriel didn’t say anything else, but there was a kind of happy gleam in his eyes that Sam hadn’t seen once since they’d saved him, and Sam could tell he was going to be okay.

They all were.


End file.
